Can-labeling machine



March 12, B G 5 CAN LAB ELING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet Filed Jan. 26, 1928 Ler0y,% ay, lNVENTO R,

ATTORNEYS wvM 9v 0 o March 12, 12929. L. BIGGS CANLABELING MACHINE Filed Jan. 26, 1928 4 Shets-Sheet Lem March 12, 1929. L. BIGGS CAN LABELING MACHINE Filed Jan. 26, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Lem mvENToR,

ATTORNEYS to roll, one at a Patented Mar. 12,1929.

LEROY BIGGS; oroRovILLn,.wasnine'ron. 5'

CAN-LABELING MACHINE.

Application filed January 26, 1928; Serial-No. 249,681. I

This invention relates to can labeling machines and aims, among other objects,.t0 prothe type whereand allowed adherence of the label, with the minimum amount of paste. I

Referring to the drawings, wherein the preferred embodiment of the invention is- I have outstanding flanges; 8 at the r upper illustrated Fig. 1 is'a side elevation labeling machine 5 w y a Fig. 2 isa plan view of the can receiving end of the machine and drawn on'a larger scale. l

Fig. 3 is a view, similar to Fig. 2, ot the discharge end thereof. 1

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional View through the intermediate portion of the machine. 5 j f .Fig. 5 is an enlarged side elevation of the of p the improved discharge end.

' oiiiFig. Q. and

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section through the subject matter of Fig.5. a

. Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. ing the movement of the parts.

Fig. 8 is a detail section taken-on the 6 and show-.

line

F 9 is a sectmn Fig. 10 is a-transverse section of. the ma: chine taken on the l.ine1. ()'1(l otli ig. 6..

Referring to. the .dra w ings; "th ere is shown an .elongateddrameadapted to rest upon a suitable support and comprising spaced side walls or members preferably'in the form of suitable'castings of open formation and mar;

I ginally flanged to insnrc'strength. QE-ach spaced, parallel sections side member preferably comprises two sections. 1 and 2, section let each member-being h er than section thereof, and consume the canreceivin'g end of. themaehine; while the sections? constitute the discharge end thereof. Thetwr.) sectiensare held together by suitable fasteners 3. in the form ott screws or bolts while gether with suitableco-acting bolts hold the 1; in proper relation c ing blocks and to each other and similar sp bolts 5 hold the sections 2. V j

Mon'nted enthe upper edges f thesections 1, Win

for the pure o .1 are generally inclinedtaken on the 'line 9-.9 tacle,

. extending lugs 18 whieh are spacing blocks 4c, to}

pose, arespaced track members each having an inwardly-directed flange 6 constitutmg a rail on which the cansroll'downwardly to- -wards the discharge end of thelma'chine itq being understood thatthe machine is in tended for use in applying labels to cans which have been filled and-sealed and have suflicientweight to cause them to-rollawith' force enough to, actuate thelabel applying mechanism to be later described. I

Thetrack members are connected to each "other: by spacing blocks orbars 7 held by belts or otherwise, and the said "members ends which are adapted to'r'est upon sup ports 9 termed on the upper endsof thesectrons 1, wh1le s nnlar flangesv lOar'e formed ends," and in position to rest upon; corresponding supports 11 of the sections 1; to

rigidly maintain the track members inin clined position upon the frame, y

The sections 1- ofthe'frame are each pro? videdwith corresponding drop portions 12 for the reception of a transversely disp 0sed paste receptacle 13together with aheating ;on thetrackmembers, acentto their lower i element 14 which is preferably of an ele'ce' trical type. The pastereceptacle and heating element are preferably detachable from the machine forthe purpose of cleaning thesaid receptacle and to this end, arms 15' are formed on tl'ieupper rear edgeof thefr'ecepsaid arms being adapted to rest: upon inwardly directed lugs 16 carried byQtlie track members, while other, angularly-bent arms 17 e); ten d-g'ifrom the upper. front edge of the receptacle a' nd 'rest up on' inwardly. alsofformed on faces of the track members. 15 it will be seenthat vthe the inner thls arran gement;

paste receptacle and heating element maybe easily disengaged fromits supported posi tion, by.s-uitablyisliding and tiltingthe same, ,in an obvious manner, when desired. 1

" Upstanding, alined posts the track members, near I 19 are formed 0 the upper edges of their upper ends,,said )osts"having suitable aperturesfor the trunnions 2O of-acan-check ing arm 21 extendingtowards the'dischargc end of the machine and adapted to-rest normally in a'downwardlyrinclined position, as

shown in (lotted lines in Fig. 1, and to be. elevated when engaged byga' can line positionshown in said figure.

. Asuitable hopper, incline, or ch (e0 shown} ieadepted tobesupriert d attir 1 9 -perend of the machine from which the cans may roll onto the tracks 6', and when one can v the uppermost of a stack oflabels L supported in a for a-rdly inclined position and with said has advanced to elevate the arm 21, the next following can is checked and held from further rolling by means of forwardly directed lugs 22 formed on the cross bar of the checking deviceand inclining downwardlywhen the finger 21 is elevated, and being elevated when the finger drops, to a position to permit another can to passfasshown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. p

As the can, in rolling, approaches the free I endiof the finger 21, and the following cans 'areretarded, a trip lever 23, located centrally of the machine, is encountered and rocked forwardly to rotate a transverse shaft 24 terminally journalled in the sides of thetrack members. Through the medium of gearing 25, located at one side of the machine, this shaft24 imparts motion to a second rock shaft 26 also conveniently journalled in the track members and having a plurality of angularly bent paste-applyinglingers 2'7, which nor mallv lie at an inclination within the paste receptaclell, the ends of the fingers resting upon the'bottom thereof. By this arrangeinen't'it will be seen that thefinge'rs are elevated when the can contacts with the trip lever23 and the fingers, having a quantity of paste adhering thereto will each apply paste in a short arcuate path on the can asthe latter passes over same. In the present-instance,

? there has been shown three of such fingers which apply the paste on the bare can, two of the applications being-made near the ends of the can. As the shaft 26 is thus rocked, crank arms 28securedto each projecting end thereof are 'caused to impart a pulling action on connecting rods: 29 located ontlie outer sides ofthetraclt members and connected at their otherends tocam levers 30 mounted for hori- .zontal swinging movement upon upstanding posts 31 secured on the outer faces of the front ends ofthetraclrmembers, which are provided with depending 'eiid portions 32 -having'theirlower edgeslo'c ated close to the inclined upper edgesofthe frame sections 2. The cam levers are adapted to bear inwardly against hinged leaves 84 operable within openings 35 formed in the rear edges of the drop portions 32 of the sections 2, said leaves having eyes 36'formcd in their outer, forward ends for the reception of pintles journalled in brackets?!" secured to the outer sides of said sections v I When the can C, after having'the paste applied thereto, as above described, rolls along thetra'clis 6 towards the leaves 3%, it gathers sufficient momentum to carry same beyond the end 6 of said tracks and in position to be arrested in its flight by a stop 38 in the form of a bail having.- its side arms directed for wardly'towards the entrance end of the machine'and pivoted to the outer sides of the tra'ckm'embers, "as at 89. 'The can is thus inoi'nentarily held stationary and leased by the. leaves 3% to allow theends of caused to fall, substantially in a vertical direction, to contact with the properedge of edges substantially midway between the ends 6 of the tracks and the leaves 34, (see Fig.

4). The distance between the paste applying fingers 27 and the upper front edge of the can. In traversing the tracks between the paste receptacle l3 and the ends 6 of the tracks, the can contacts with a secondupstanding trip lever 40 mounted on a rock shaftl l for the purpose of actuating a-second paste apl'ying means'to be later described.

The labels L are supported at an inclination by means of a bed or plat term 42,1ocated between the sections 2 and having depending ears for the reception of bolts 43 passing through said sections, and said inclination is considerably greater than that of the tracks at formed on the inner faces of the sections, so that the can, end portion of the label, label allowing air to enter below the same to avoid two or more adhering to the can, and then roll. free from the stack of labels, along the tracks at of lesser inclination, after being slowly-rethe undesired labels to free themselves from the applied label andspring backin posi tion upon the stack, to be taken up by the following cans. Before the can picks up a'label a quantitv of paste is applied to-the outer lower end of the latter by mechanism tofbe later described. As the labeli's wrapped about the can, when the latter again begins to revolve, upon being released by the-leaves 34-, the previously applied paste will securely hold the samefto the can'and further sealing of the same iseiftcterhafter the can leaves the tracks, bythe-provision of a sealing mat orpad 45' formed of suitableresilient-ma in contacting with only the will pick upa single terial, preferably of'rubber, which extends I I at substantially the sameinclination as the tracks lt, from a point. near therearend of f the stack of labels to the discharge end of the lllflClllllO, The pad 45 is rigidly held in posh tion with the side edges thereof spaced from the sides of the frame, a-s'shown in Fig. 2-3 of the drawing, so that the end flanges of the can which are of slightly larger diameter than the body the can, as ordinarily constructed, will not 'contact with the pad, and the latterniay firmly press the label'tofthe body of the can between-the said flanges.

In order that the free or outer end of the label which, when applied to the can, er;

tends longitudinally of the same, may be securely pasted at its extreme edge, it is neces sa-r'y to apply the paste separately to each in I dividual label upon the blank side thereof and at the extrenie edgejust prior to its applicaing label being wrapped about the rolling can.

.The ends of the transverse paste-applying rod 4L6 extend through slots 47 formed in guide plates lSwhich are'detachably secured to the outer -.faces'of.the trame members the latter being" open at this point. The upper ends of the slots 17 are curved towards the'rear ot'the machine and the ends of the rod; 46 are elevated and caused to be drawn rearwardlyaway fronrthe stack of labels by "following said curved slots by means of ele vatlngarms li) secured, at their rear ends, to

the terminals of a-transverse rock shaft 50 ourn'alled in the members 2. The arms 4%) are provided at their frontswinging ends with longitudinal slots 51 which engage the ends of the pasting rod 46 and permit the lattervto traverse the curved slots. A bell crank lever 52 is fulcrumed at its angle upon a rock shaft 53 extending across the frame, said bell crank having alug 54 at the lower end of its front arm to extend beneath the adjacent elevating arm 49 at. a pointremoved from the rock shaft 50 and as the bell crank is rocked forwardly both of the arms 49, and consequently the. pasting rod 46, vare elevated. In order to actuate the bell crank lever, connectio'n'is made, as at 55, to the lower end of the rear arm thereof, with a pull red 56 which extends iorwardly along -one side of the machine and-is terminally At this moment, the rock shaf 00, provided with a Central, yoke-shaped arm 58.

connected to a'crank arm 57 attached to'one end of the aforesaid ri-ick shaft 41.1 "Wheii the latter is actuatetlby the trip arm 40 under the pressure of a rollingcan, .itwilli be seen that the pastingrrod 4C6 NVlll'Y be brought to the upper extremities'of thecurvedslots 47;

t which is Y connected at its free'end'to a transverselytank issupported between the frame menidisposed trough 59, has brought the latter up beneath the pasting rod 46 to apply a quantity of paste to the same-"In orderto supply the trough at each falling movement of the same with a fresh supply of paste, a small hers and beneath'the rock shaft 53 in posi tion to permit the feeding trough 59 to lower thereinto. The tank 60 is preferably mounted for easy removal from the frame for the,

purposes of cleansing, byrsecuring the same to a'slide 61 in the form of a plate adapted in order totslide beneath lugs-62 and having" a handle 1001163. i 4

V lniorder ,to preventrthe inclined stack of labels L from sliding downwardly upon the bed 42 andalso in orderto maintain the upper end of said stack ma vertical lme to allow the can to more readily pick up asingle label, a plurality of upstanding guard fingers 64: are siipported on the rear end of the bed to support the lower, rear edgesof the several labels. When'the pasting rod 46 has been brought down upon the rear edge of the uppermost label and starts to withdraw therefrom, the tendency is to draw the label with I the same by reason of the paste, and provision hasvbeenrmade to guard against such action by means of a presser bar65 having its lower face formed into a blunt knlfe edge-f to contact with the upermost label and, by

reason'of its weight, to hold the stack of labels a i down upon "its support. The presser bar has ts ends shaped to freely-slldeup and down 7 and be guided 111jV61t1C2LlSlOfS 66 formed 1n the aforesaid plates 48 the vertical position of thelbar thus depending upon the number of labels in the stack. When the upperlabel is stripped from the top of the stack by-windving around the rolling can, the knife edge of the presser bar'serves to remove any excess paste which may be thereon. Inplacmg ,a

new stack of labels inposition upon thesup- 7 port or bed 42, the presse'r bar 65 may be raised and held in an out of'the way posi- 'tion, by resting.the' same upon a "shoulder 67 formed in the upper ends of the slots 66. r bince all can labels do not extend entirely from the top to the bottom ofthe cans when applied, the labelsin the use of the present invention must be positioned 111 proper transverserelation tothe sidesof the frame the. 3 vdischargeend ofthe machine, and for th s purpose, guard plates sear-e provlded to. abut 1 the edges of thelabels and maintain the same inperfect almement to be properly p clieduj'a,

one'at a time, by thecansn The guard pl-ates R conformingto'the inclination of thebe'd-42 and being'slightly spaced therefrom, while'fj theirupper edges are arranged at a slight 7 angle below'the tracks 44 to escapevthe' cans as they move rea1'wardly.-Ea el1 guard plate:

are of triangular form, their lower eclges loo is supported upon a pair of sliding bolts 69 ri idl secured to the lates'and assin '-ou t'- Hwardly through aperturesin the sections 20f; the frame, each bolt having springs/Z0 bean mg against'washers for normally forcing the plates outwardly to abut'agamst set screws 71 which maybe used to secure the required nicety of adjustment of theguard-platesf hen labels are to'be applied to cans'of different sizes, it is' necessary" thatflabels ofdifferent lengths be used, with the result that the can must be allowed to drop over the end vof the 'tracksh and onto the front ends of the labels at different points relative to the location of the final pasting means. It thus arm on the rock shaft 24,"together with the weight of the pasting arms 27 will serve to return the parts totheir normal positions and to permit a preceding can topass through the leaves 3 f to pick up its label and receive the final pasting.

The removable paste container 13 is preferably formed with inclined front and rear sides and the same is also formed in two compartments, as shownin Fig. 8 of the drawings, the outer compartment providing for conveniently filling the container, the same being located on the outside of the frame and being connected to the main portion by a restricted"passageway 74 passing beneath the side of the frame. V

It is thought that the description of the operation of the various parts which has been included through the foregoing speci-v lication will obviate the necessity for any further explanation thereof.

From theforegoing it will be seen that an improved, relatively simple, compact and efficient means has beenprovided for automatically applying labels to cans of various sizes,

' mounted above the tracks ;a swinging arm on using a minimum amount of paste and preventing the application of more than one label toacan.

Obviously the present invention is not restricted to the particular embodiment thereof herein shown and described. Moreover, it is notindispensable that all the features of the invention be used conjointly, since they may be employed advantageously in various com- V binations-and subcombinat ons.

VVhatI is claimed is 1. A machine for automatically applying labels to cans comprising inclined tracks foil" tl1e cans to roll upon; means at the upper end of the tracks to causethc passage ofa single can at a time; means to apply pastepartially aroundthecan label supporting means internediate the ends of the machine and having a StttClCO'f labels thereon; means for checking the rolling movement of the can and causing same to drop upon the upper end of'the uppermost label; means for slowly releasing the can to start rolling again means for pasting the free, outer edge of the label; and means for finallypressing the entire label against the 2., In anautomatic can labeling machine; a frame having inclined tracksfor the cans to roll upon; means operable by each can to retard'thepassage of thefollowing cans down the track; a paste receptacle arranged beneath the tracks; atrip lever arranged inthe path of the can; a plurality of paste-applying fingers normally projecting into thepaste;

gearing cennecting the leverto the fingers to. elevate the latter into contact with the can when the latter rolls past and deflects the lever a bed having labels supported thereon midway of the machine; means for causing the can to drop onto the front edge of the uppermost label; means for causing the can mounted above the tracks; a central, longitudinal arm extending rearwardly'ffrom the shaft normally at an inclination and "adapted to be elevated by a rolling can to rock the shaft; lugs extending forwardly from .the shaft at an angle to engage and retard'the next following can until the first can has passed from beneath the end of the arm; I

means for applying paste to the rollingcan;

a bed supporting a stack of labels in the path of the rolhngcans; means for causingthe can to drop upon and pick up a label; and'means for pasting the free edge of the label. .7 4- An automatic can labeling machine comprising a frame having a pair of inclined tracks for cans to roll upon; across shaft at an angle to engage and retard the next fol-- lowing can until the first-can has passed'from beneath the end of the arm; means for apply-- ing paste to the rolling can; a bed supportingv a stack of labels inthe path of the rolling cans; means for causing the can to drop upon and pick up. a label; and means for pasting the free, edge of the label. Y

' 5. In a can labeling machine; a frame having upper inclined tracks for the entrance of cans and lower inclined tracks for the dis 1 tion of the lower tracks and. the lower end ofthe entrance tracks being located above the higher end of thedischargetracks; an inclined bed arranged at the juncture between the tracks and supporting a stack of labels thereon; can stopping means near the lower ends, of the upper tracks to check the cans and cause same to drop vertically upon the upper ends of the labels; means mounted between the upper tracks forapplying paste to the cans to pick up the uppermost label; means,

mounted between the lower tracksforv apply the edge as the label is wrapped around the can. y 1 e 1.3. A can labeling machine comprising, in

combination, an inclined way for rolling cans; means for releasing cans, one at a time,

to'roll down said way; means for applying paste to the cans while theyare rolling; a

I bed supporting a stack of labels so arranged that the cans fall on the labels and pick up one at a time; means for automatically applying paste to one edge of the labels; and

a. blunt edge wiperiarra nge'd transversely of the machine to loosely bear upon the uppermost label and scrape excess paste from the edge thereof as the label is picked up by the rolling can. 1 V

14. A can labeling machine comprising, in

combination, can inclined way for rolling cans; meansfor releasing cans, one at a t me, (to roll down'said way; means for applying paste to the .cans'while' they are rolling; an inclined bed having a stack of labels thereon .mounted midway of the run for cans to fall upon; means for supporting the labels with their front edges in vertical almement means for applying a narrow strip of pasteto the rearedges of the labels; means for scraping the excess paste therefromyand triangular guage plates adpistably'mounted at each side "ofthe bed to position the labels laterally to receive the falling can. a

15. A can labeling machinecomprising, in combination, a trance; an inclined runway for rolling cans mounted uponthe frame, said runway having an entrance portion'and a I discharge portion, the entrance portion terminating above the upper end of the discharge portion to cause the cans to fall means for supporting a stack of labels in inclined position below, the falling cans; and means for longitudinally shifting the position of the entrance portion of the runway relative to the discharge portion to cause-the canto properly fall upon the upper'edge of the upper label. V I

16. A canlabeling machine comprising, in

combination, a frame; upper and lower in-e clined runways mountedlongitudinally upon the frame, the lower end of the upper runway terminat-ing midway of the frame and above theupper end of the lower runway; means operable bythe cans to admit one can at a time, and to applypaste thereto while rolling along the'upper runways; means for causing-the cans to fall vertically from the end of the uppcrrunway; an inclined label bed beneath thesai'd end and having a stack of labels, thereon; means for positioning the labels transversely; means for causing the can to start. slowlyto pick up only-the upper ln testnnony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, 1 have'horeto ailixed mysignature.

'LERoYnio-Gs. f 

